Reducing Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions - 2027 Leaving Cert Climate Action and Sustainable Development Project

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Apr 2
3 min read

Updated: Apr 10

Tourism, Land Use and Climate Change: A Ready-Made Investigation for the Leaving Cert Climate Action and Sustainable Development Project.

With the introduction of Leaving Cert Climate Action and Sustainable Development (CASD), many teachers are asking the same question:

What does a strong Action Project actually look like in practice?

One of the biggest challenges students face is moving from theory to real-world investigation—especially when it comes to collecting meaningful data and linking it to greenhouse gas emissions.

A simple and effective way to do this is through a local investigation of tourism, land use, and carbon storage.

Why This Topic Works So Well

The current project brief focuses on reducing Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions, but students often think only of obvious sources like transport or industry.

What’s often overlooked is that:

How we use land locally affects how much carbon is stored or released into the atmosphere.

High-use areas such as:

Tourist sites
Parks
School grounds

can all impact carbon sinks through:

Loss of vegetation
Soil compaction
Erosion

This makes them ideal, accessible case studies for students.

A Ready-Made Student Investigation

A strong project can be built around a clear question, such as:

“How does human activity in high-use/footfall areas affect carbon storage, and what actions can reduce its impact on greenhouse gas emissions?”

What Students Can Investigate

Students can explore how land use affects carbon storage by examining:

Vegetation – identifying areas that act as strong or weak carbon sinks
Soil – assessing soil condition and its ability to store carbon
Riverbanks or coastal areas – observing erosion and loss of vegetation
Human impact – recording trampling, informal paths, and signs of disturbance

Simple and Effective Methods

This investigation works well because it uses straightforward fieldwork techniques:

Quadrat surveys
Soil sampling
River or coastal measurements
Photography
Maps and observations

These methods allow students to collect primary data, which is a key requirement of the CASD Action Project.

Making the Link to Climate Change

The most important step is helping students connect their findings to emissions:

Healthy vegetation and soil = strong carbon sinks
Damaged or disturbed areas = reduced carbon storage

This leads to a clear conclusion:

When carbon storage is reduced, more CO₂ remains in the atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

From Investigation to Action

Once students understand the issue, they can move into the Action Project phase.

Practical, realistic actions might include:

Promoting responsible behaviour in high-use areas (e.g. staying on paths)
Raising awareness of carbon sinks in their school or community
Improving biodiversity in school grounds to increase carbon storage
Conducting surveys to change behaviour

These are achievable, measurable, and directly linked to their research.

Bringing It to Life Through Fieldwork

While this investigation can be introduced in the classroom, it becomes far more meaningful when students can:

Collect real data in a real environment
Observe visible human impact
Use fieldwork methods with expert guidance

This is exactly what students experience during field studies at Powerscourt Waterfall and coastal locations, where they investigate carbon storage and human impact in high-use environments.